U.S. markets closed 2011 with a whimper as low volume and lack of buying interest dragged on stocks. For the year, the Dow Industrials ended in the black, choking up a 5.5% gain, while the S&P 500 index, along with the more widely followed Nasdaq, ended the year in the red. Despite negative headlines out of Europe for the majority of the second half of the year, U.S. markets remained resilient and appear poised to move higher if headline risk subsides. Read more